A Method to Quantify the Detailed Risk of Serious Injury in Agricultural Production

Noha Mahmoud, Allan Leck Jensen, Cairistiona F. E. Topp, Claus Aage Grøn Sørensen, Michael Nørremark, Vera Eory and Nicholas J. Hutchings
Additional contact information
Noha Mahmoud: Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
Allan Leck Jensen: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
Cairistiona F. E. Topp: Land Economy Environment and Society Research Group, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Peter Wilson Building, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
Claus Aage Grøn Sørensen: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
Michael Nørremark: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
Vera Eory: Land Economy Environment and Society Research Group, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Peter Wilson Building, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
Nicholas J. Hutchings: Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Agricultural injuries are a valuable social sustainability indicator. However, current methods use sector-scale production data, so are unable to assess the impact of changes in individual farming practices. Here, we developed a method that adopts a life cycle approach to quantify the number of serious injuries during agricultural production processes and assess the potential impact of changes in agricultural practices. The method disaggregates agricultural production into operations and estimates the contribution each operation makes to the frequency of different types of injuries. The method was tested using data collected by survey during an expert workshop in which sixteen participants were asked to estimate the parameters related to typical dairy cattle and pig farms. Parameter estimates for specific operations varied considerably between participants, so normalized values were used to disaggregate sector-scale statistics to production operations. The results were in general agreement with the results from other studies. Participants found it challenging to quantify the potential effect of new technologies. Provided suitable empirical statistical data are available, the method can be used to quantify the risk of injury associated with individual products and provide an ex-ante assessment of future developments in farming practices.

Keywords: agriculture; safety; method development; social indicator; life cycle analysis; injuries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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